


More short prompt fills

by Dracothelizard



Category: Take That (Band)
Genre: 90s fic, Blow Jobs, Bondage, Competition, Crossdressing, Gen, M/M, Multi, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, One Shot, Orgasm Delay/Denial, Prompt Fill, Short, Spanking, Threesome - M/M/M, Uniform Kink
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2020-01-18
Packaged: 2020-02-16 05:52:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 39
Words: 12,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18685432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dracothelizard/pseuds/Dracothelizard
Summary: More promptfills I did, most of these are snippets or short scenes rather than complete stories, but I wanted to collect them somewhere.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Obviously, I made it all up.
> 
> 1 - Co-topping, Jason/Gary/Howard, M  
> 2 - Boybands, gen.  
> 3 - Cuddle piles, OT5  
> 4 - Compartmentalizing, gen  
> 5 - Dancing, Gary/Howard, PG-13  
> 6 - Orgy Ships, OT5, PG-13  
> 7 - Spanking, Jason/Robbie, M  
> 8 - Uniform Kink, Gary/Mark, M  
> 9 - Omegaverse, gen  
> 10 - Ice baths, Jason/Gary/Howard, PG-13  
> 11 - Orgasm denial, Jason/Howard, E  
> 12 - Epaulets, gen  
> 13 - Different Omegaverse, gen  
> 14 - State-Mandated Ghost Hunting AU, gen  
> 15 - Discovering someone's Bad Dragon collection, Howard/Robbie, M  
> 16 - Borrowing clothes, Howard/Jason, M  
> 17 - Eurovision, gen  
> 18 - Good behaviour, gen.  
> 19 - tied to a chair, Howard/Robbie/Jason, PG-13  
> 20 - beefy dudes topping from the bottom, Howard/Mark, E.  
> 21 - post-coital breakfast, Gary/Howard, PG-13  
> 22 - finding smut fic about yourself, mention of Gary/Robbie, technically E.  
> 23 - orgy ships, OT5, Kidzverse, PG-13  
> 24 - bad sex, Gary/Howard, E.  
> 25 - sleepy, Jason&Robbie, G.  
> 26 - evil saunas, Gary --> Howard and Jason, PG.  
> 27 - being sent a sex toy, Gary/Robbie, M.  
> 28 - acting for your life, Jason & Gary, G.  
> 29 - lapdances, Howard/Gary, PG-13  
> 30 - dogs, Gary&Robbie, G.  
> 31 - I don't dance, gen, G.  
> 32 - loving oranges, Mark/Jason, PG.  
> 33 - loving orange, Robbie&Jason, G.  
> 34 - loving orange, Howard&Jason, G.  
> 35 - loving oranges, Gary/Jason, PG  
> 36 - clothing kink, Mark-->Gary, R.  
> 37 - ropes, Robbie-->Gary, R.  
> 38 - butts, Howard--> Gary, G.  
> 39 - being horrified by your future self, Robbie, PG.

He thought he'd dealt with all his issues, all his insecurities, but then he catches sight of Howard or Jason or both changing shirts or just casually hanging around without a shirt on as if it's the most natural thing in the world, and just like that, it feels like the last ten years never happened.  
  
Looking at them, at how good they still look, how good they can still dance, it's hard to believe that it has.   
  
But the main reason he _knows_ all that time has passed is because now he can watch the two of them make jokes about which one of them is wearing the least amount of clothing on stage, and know where that unsettling feeling in his gut is coming from. It's not envy or jealousy.  
  
It's butterflies and lust.   
  
Maybe if he hadn't spent so much time with his head up his own arse, he would've noticed that he wasn't exactly one hundred per cent straight.

He watches Jason help Howard put on the slightly ridiculous cropped vest he'll be wearing for Relight My Fire, and how that seems to require a lot of touching of his chest and neck, and a lot of smiling at each other.   
  
Maybe he should've noticed _they_ weren't exactly one hundred per cent straight either.   
  
"At least you've got sleeves, I'm wearing barbed wire."   
  
"I'll trade you the barbed wire for this shrug."  
  
"It's not a shrug!" Mark calls out, not for the first time that day. "It's a bolero jacket." He walks over to them, glaring at them for about five seconds before grinning and tugging it a bit further down Howard's back. "There," he says, giving Howard a friendly, lingering pat on the arse. "Now you look decent."   
  
Maybe Gary should've noticed _no one_ in this band was exactly one hundred per cent straight.  
  
Not that it helps him with the butterflies. Just because he's figured himself out doesn't mean Howard or Jason is suddenly going to jump into bed with him.  
  
 _Or both_ , an especially treacherous part of his mind whispers.   
  
He shakes his head. Best not to let his thoughts head down that path again. No good'll come from it.  
  
*  
  
Sharing a dressing room is both the best and the worst. The chatter stops him from getting too nervous, too stuck in his own head, but on the other hand, it's very difficult to mentally go through the choreography when Jason's standing only a few feet away from him in only his underpants.   
  
At least after the concert he's too exhausted to be able to focus on anything but figuring out where the hell he left his socks to be too bothered by his bandmates' nudity.  
  
"Put some on clothes, Howard."  
  
"I'm still sweating buckets!"   
  
"So? You're having a shower back at the hotel anyway."  
  
Howard laughs. "You sound awfully sure of that. You offering to join me? Wash my back?"   
  
"It _would_ be better for the environment."   
  
Gary focuses on putting on his socks, and not on Howard and Jason sharing a shower. Or, well, he tries. He's only human.   
  
"You know what would be even better for the environment, though? Gary joining us."  
  
"Good point. Gary, what do you think?"   
  
Gary blinks at his socks, then slowly looks up at Jason, who is looking at him expectantly.   
  
And seriously.   
  
He looks at Howard, who is distractingly naked and grinning suggestively.   
  
"What?" he asks, while his brain is trying not to panic.  
  
"Sharing a shower," Jason says, then his smile grows. "For the environment, of course."  
  
"Very important, the environment," Howard adds. "Right?"   
  
"Shush, How, we discussed this. Let Gary think for a second."   
  
"You _discussed_ this?" Somehow his brain has decided to latch onto that.   
  
"Yeah, the tactics of it."   
  
Howard's reply explains nothing, and Gary looks at Jason, who is glaring daggers at Howard. "The tactics of what?" Gary asks.   
  
"The threeway."   
  
Jason facepalms. "Howard." His voice is muffled. "We were going to work up to that."  
  
"And we did."   
  
"No, we were going to test the waters first by asking him to share a shower, and then suggest the threeway once he was in my hotel room."   
  
"I still don't see why it's got to be _your_ hotel room."  
  
"Yours is right next to Mark."  
  
"Fair point."   
  
Gary is still trying to wrap his head around what just happened. "You want to have a threeway? With me?"   
  
"Yes, with you."   
  
"If you'd like." Jason's voice is gentle. "I thought - I wasn't sure, but I thought you'd like to, this time."   
  
Gary stares up at him. He should've seen this coming. Of course Jason, quiet and always observing Jason, has figured him out. Part of him, an old part, wants to deny everything and run away. "I'd like to," he says instead, and his stomach feels like it's about to jump out of his throat.   
  
Quick as a flash, Howard's on his feet and walking over to him, but Jason was already standing closer. He offers Gary his hand and pulls him up.   
  
Gary's grateful, because he's feeling very unsteady on his feet. "What happens now?"   
  
"This," Jason says, cupping Gary's face and slowly leaning in for a kiss. It's not even the first time they've done this, but it is the first time that Gary lets himself lean into it and deepen the kiss. He rests his hands against Jason's chest, wondering if Jason's heart is beating as wildly as his own.   
  
He starts at the hand on his shoulder, and turns to look up into Howard's darkening eyes.   
  
"Stop hogging him," Howard tells Jason, then leans in to kiss Gary as well. It's not as forceful as Gary expected - not he's spent a lot of time thinking about how Howard would kiss him - but also not as gentle as Jason's kiss was.   
  
Jason's hands are still on his face, but they slide down his neck, one thumb finding a spot that has Gary shiver. "We can discuss sharing once we're in my hotel room."


	2. Chapter 2

"You think you got the hang of Pray after 25 years?"

Gary gives Howard as stern a glare as he can muster over his glasses, all the while trying not to laugh. "What do you think I've been doing while you were off pretending to be Jeremy Clarkson?"

"I was not pretending to be Clarkson!"

"He's right," Mark pipes up, before Gary can. "Have you seen what he wears on the show? He's clearly pretending to be May." He ducks to avoid the empty water bottle thrown at his head, and immediately picks it up to throw back at Howard.

"Well," says Gary, after several attempts by Mark and Howard to hit each other's head with the water bottle, "I'm glad that hasn't changed over the past thirty years."

"You know what else hasn't changed? You being unable to do the Pray dance properly without plenty of practice," Howard tells him, holding the water bottle threateningly. "Get to it, Barlow."

Gary smiles. He had walked right into that one.


	3. Chapter 3

Robbbie's not surprised the photographer asks them to pile up. "Some things never change, do they?"   
  
Sometimes it feels like he's spent most of his time in Take That in the 90s either lying on top of the others, or having them lie on top of him.  
  
"Nope. But what has changed is that we discuss pile order beforehand now," Gary tells him.   
  
"What, like who goes on top and who goes on the bottom?" Robbie waggles his eyebrows at Gary, who snorts.   
  
"Yes, actually. Have you got a preference?"   
  
He's still not used to Gary actually asking him for his opinion. "I don't mind being on the bottom."  
  
"That's you sorted, then. It's probably easiest if Mark goes on top," Gary muses. "Which leaves me sandwiched between Howard and Jay."  
  
"Well, there's worse places to be, eh?" Robbie grins at him.   
  
"Just wait until we get back to the hotel and I explain how this cuddlepile order affects _other_ orders."   
  
Oh. Well, he's fine with being on the bottom in either scenario.


	4. Chapter 4

Gary tries to be more cooperative than he was the first time round, but, well, when it comes to songwriting, it is difficult not to let his ego take over and fall back into old patterns.  
  
Especially when it comes to winning their not-at-all-a-competition competition for The Circus album.  
  
"What do you mean?" he asks, when Jason triumphantly declares that he's the not-winner of that not-competion.   
  
"Compartmentalising," Jason replies, grinning and enunciating each syllable carefully. "18 letters, six syllables. I win." He hands Gary the notepad.  
  
"What? No." How the hell had Jason got that word into one of the songs? He knows Jason and Mark have been debating How Did It Come To This amongst themselves while he and Howard were working on Said It All, but how had he missed _that_ addition? "You can't have a word that long in a song. That's ridiculous." He regrets the words and his tone once it's left his mouth. Still, it _is_ six syllables.   
  
"I can." Jason gestures at the notepad. "Mark and I worked it out with the syllables, it's fine."   
  
"Hmm." It rankles for about ten seconds, then he smiles and pushes his ego aside. "Should've known giving you that Word of the Day calendar was going to come back to bite me."


	5. Chapter 5

Not for the first time that afternoon, Gary kicks his water bottle across the floor, then folds his arms across his chest. "Pray's a ballad, why do we need a dance routine for a _ballad_? This is stupid."   
  
Howard, who is the only one left by virtue of being the only one who can tolerate Gary during one of his huffy 'choreography sucks, dancing sucks, why can't you four dance while I just sing?' tantrums, nods. "Well, yeah."   
  
Gary's glare slightly softens. Very slightly. "You agree that dancing is stupid?"   
  
Hold on. "I agree that this particular dance is stupid," Howard replies. "In fact, me and Jay have already put it in our top ten of stupid choreographies we've had to learn for this band. But," he quickly adds, before Gary can interrupt, "we're still going to do it, which means that you're going to do it."  
  
"But I don't want to," Gary says, and then he pouts and Howard wishes he had a camera with him to record this moment forever.   
  
"Stop pouting, Barlow, and start dancing." Howard sits down, and gestures at him to get started.   
  
"I'm not pouting!"   
  
"Are. Anyway, take it from the top." He counts Gary off, and smiles approvingly as Gary gets the first few steps right. "Keep up the good work, Gaz, and there might be a blowjob in it for you."   
  
Gary stumbles over his feet, then freezes in place to give Howard a wide-eyed stare. "A what?"   
  
"A blowjob." He leans back on his hands. "Works wonders on Rob, figured it might motivate you as well. Go on, from the top."   
  
This time, Gary does the whole routine perfectly.  
  
Well, as perfect as Gary is every going to get _any_ of their dance routines.


	6. Chapter 6

"Are you telling me," Robbie says, "that you're not having regular orgies on this amazing spaceship?"  
  
"No," Jason replies. "We're a crew of five! We need someone on navigation, someone behind the control panel, someone on maintenance, someone to do the cooking, and someone to do the cleaning." He gives Robbie a significant look.  
  
"I refuse to be on cleaning duty," Robbie informs him. "So I'm gonna be on Orgy Organising Duty."   
  
"That's not a duty!"   
  
"It is now!"   
  
As Robbie and Jason continue to yell at each other, Mark smiles up at Howard. "See," Mark says, "I told you Robbie would find his place."   
  
Howard smiles too. "I hope he can convince Jason to finally have that orgy. It's about time we had one."


	7. Chapter 7

"If you want a spanking, you're supposed to ask," Jason informs him, and very calmly sips his tea, then goes back to leafing through yesterday's newspaper. "Not annoy me into doing it. We've been over this. Open and honest communication."   
  
Robbie clenches his fists, then forces himself to relax them. "So does talking like you're leading a group therapy session do it for you?"   
  
Jason doesn't look up, but Robbie can see a twitch of a smile on his face. "You're not gonna annoy me into spanking you, Robbie. Ask, or get out."   
  
Well, he's definitely not leaving. "Fine. Jason, will you pretty please give me a spanking?" He's been feeling antsy all day, and Jason's his best bet. Gary won't be pried away from his piano, Mark's too worried about hurting Robbie, and Howard's more into giving than receiving when it comes to spanking. It wouldn't work.   
  
"All right." Jason pushes his chair back, and gestures for Robbie to come to him.  
  
Anticipation flares hot inside him as he arranges himself across Jason's lap. It's awkward and a little uncomfortable, but that's the point.   
  
He relaxes once Jason's hand runs through his hair, and shivers when Jason strokes the back of his neck with his thumb. "There, much better, isn't it?"   
  
Robbie hums in agreement, squirming to get more comfortable. Jason's other hand strokes his ass, before Jason lifts his hand briefly and makes it come back down hard. Robbie gasps in shock, then grins happily. "Shouldn't you be doing that on my bare ass?" he asks.  
  
Jason gives his hair a sharp tug. "We're just getting started, Rob."   
  
Robbie groans at that, and his cock is hardening further. Yes, this is definitely what he needed.


	8. Chapter 8

Gary Barlow is a lot of things, but he isn't subtle.   
  
Mark has watched him plenty of times throughout the years, and you'd have to be blind not to notice his penchant for military jackets when it comes to a performance. It's a penchant Mark can definitely get behind, because those jackets are very flattering on Gary, and they make him look very authoritive, very much the leader of the band, very much in control.  
  
Even when he isn't.   
  
"Great show tonight," Mark says, crowding Gary up against a wall in a quiet area backstage. It's their 4th night at the O2, and Mark has figured out where the quiet hallways are.  
  
"I know." Gary sighs happily, and beams down happily at him.   
  
Mark rests his hands on Gary's shoulders, pushes him against the wall, and kisses him. He presses his body against Gary's, standing on his toes, making sure Gary can't go anywhere, even if he wanted to.  
  
Judging by the way Gary's fingers are curling tight in Mark's shirt, Gary is very happy staying where he is.  
  
Mark pulls, grinning at Gary. "This jacket looks good on you," he murmurs, running his hands down the front.  
  
"I was hoping you'd say that," Gary replies, glancing down at his jacket before looking into Mark's eyes.  
  
Mark blinks. "Are you - you think _I_ like these jackets? The military ones?"   
  
"Well, yes?" Gary replies, looking a little confused. "I mean, I've been wearing them for years and you've been looking and, well..." He trails off, giving a little tug on Mark's shirt. "Here we are."   
  
Mark's brain is struggling to catch up with what Gary's saying, because it's a bit difficult to think now that he has Gary pushed up against a wall and willing to kiss him, but he manages. "Are you saying you've been wearing these military jackets because you think I like them?"   
  
"Yes?" Gary looks down at him, still a little confused. "I mean, you clearly do."   
  
"I thought you were wearing them because _you_ were getting off on it," Mark explains.   
  
"Oh," is all Gary says. "Uhm. So, what does that mean?"   
  
Mark thinks for a moment. A very brief moment, because he'd like to get back to kissing Gary. "I think it means we're both into you wearing military jackets, so clearly you should stick to that."   
  
"Always knew you were clever," Gary says, and then they're back to kissing. And Mark grinds his hips against Gary's until he feels something harden and hears Gary whimper into the kiss, well, that's just a bonus to the whole military jacket thing.


	9. Chapter 9

They all had their designated roles in the band. You got your hair cut the way you were told, you wore the clothes you were told to wear, you knocked a few years off your age, and you said what you were supposed to say - or just kept quiet entirely. Nigel knew best, and he had a plan, and they were gonna stick to it. It'd be worth it.  
  
So of course, Robbie threw a spanner in the works at the first opportunity. He hadn't had his first cycle yet when he joined the band, a bit of a late-bloomer in that respect, but Nigel had said that meant Robbie would be an omega, or maybe a beta, so that would be fine. It'd fit with Howard and Jason as Betas, Mark as an Omega, and Gary as their Alpha, the way it should be.   
  
And then Robbie went through his first cycle and came out an Alpha, standing taller and radiating confidence and with a hungry glint in his eyes.   
  
Gary hated him for it.

Nigel had taken one look at Robbie, had narrowed his eyes and had picked up the phone. A few days later he shoved a plastic bottle filled with white pills in Robbie's hands. "Take these once a day," he told Robbie, glaring down at him. "They're suppressors."

"I thought you only had Omega suppressors?" Robbie asked, staring at the bottle. "Where did you get these?"

Nigel sighed. "They're _new_ , and never you mind how I got them. What matters is that I got them. For you, Robbie. We can't have two Alphas in the band. It won't end well. Besides, Mark's happy with his Omega suppressors, aren't you?"

"Yes," Mark said, and smiled.

They all knew those Omega suppressors didn't work entirely, and whenever Mark was in heat, he still gave off a hint of pheromones, which made their performances in gay clubs a bit tricky sometimes. But it got the crowd going, so it was fine.

Robbie glanced at Mark, then at Nigel, then at the bottle of pills. "All right," he said, "I'll take them."

"Good lad."

In hindsight, they probably should've asked more questions about those pills and where they came from and what was in them and who made them. But there were a lot of questions that they didn't ask, and probably should've.

*

Twenty years later, there had been a lot of progress, in more ways than one. There were Alpha suppressors that worked, although Robbie refused to take them after his experiences with the dodgy ones in the 90s. It was hard to say how much of his post-Take That bender had been caused by taking dodgy suppressors for years and quitting them cold turkey, or by Robbie being Robbie. So Gary took them instead.

It was still something that fascinated journalists, though, two Alphas in a band together without ripping each other's throats out.

"So how does it work?" one of them asked, pen tapping on his notepad. "Someone has to make the decisions."

"We vote," Gary said, radiating calm. He knew what the journalist was looking for, hoping for. "All five of us."

"That's why I joined!" Robbie added, grinning. "They needed a tiebreaker."

"Oh yes, it was chaos before we got you back," Gary told him drily. "Didn't get anything done at all, surprised we lasted as long as we did."

The journalist stared at them, surprised at Gary deferring to Robbie like that, so easily, even in jest. "Really?"

"Of course not," Mark said. "Before Robbie came back, these three just listened to me and we went with my ideas!" He heaved a mock-heavy sigh of disappointment.

That made the journalist's eyes widen even more in surprise. "You listened to _him_?" he asked, looking at Gary, clearly expecting Gary to say it was a joke.

Gary suspected the journalist was an Alpha, and that reaction confirmed it. "Of course," he said, meeting the journalist's surprised gaze with a calm one of his own.

"We all listen to each other," Jason explained. "We talk things through now before making a decision."

"Or we flip a coin for it if talking takes too long," Howard added.

The journalist eyed them, frowning slightly, clearly not sure what to make of them. He followed it up with a question about Shame, and how long it took them to put apologies to paper.

It was gonna be a long interview. 


	10. Chapter 10

"You can do it!" Jason shouts from the hallway. "Come on, Gary, just a little longer!"   
  
"I hate you!" Gary shouts back. "I hate all of you!"  
  
"Think of how good it'll feel afterwards!" Howard adds.  
  
Gary is silent for a moment. "I still hate all of you!"   
  
"Does that mean you don't want us two to warm you up in a bit?" Jason asks.   
  
"Ten more seconds," Howard says, "and we'll warm you up properly."   
  
They watch Gary pull a series of interesting faces, but he manages to stay in the ice bath for ten seconds longer without swearing.


	11. Chapter 11

There were a lot of things Howard loved about Jason, but his ability to be an absolute cocktease was not one of them.   
  
A literal cocktease, even, since Jason had been sucking him off and playing with his balls for some time now, and wasn't showing any signs of doing enough of either of those things to actually get Howard off.   
  
"Come on," he groaned, fingers digging into the sheets underneath him. "Please?" Jason always did like it when he begged.   
  
Jason raised his head and smiled. He crawled forward, leaning down to give Howard a kiss. "Well, you know what they say, Howard."  
  
"What?"   
  
Jason's smile grew. "Just have a little patience."   
  
Howard burst out laughing, any thoughts of complaining pushed away by the delighted grin on Jason's face.


	12. Chapter 12

  
"That coat," Gary tells him, "is a health and safety hazard. They're letting you put that on? On stage?"   
  
Mark holds it up to Gary's chest. "Yes, and you're getting one too. It'll look great."  
  
"It _won't_ look great if those fringes get in the way of me playing the piano," he replies.  
  
Mark frowns. "That is a good point," he says begrudgingly, lowering the coat. He glances up at Gary. "You'll still have to wear _something_ with these fringes. It'll look daft if I'm the only one on stage wearing it."   
  
"Well, what about epaulets?"   
  
Mark snorts. "I was wondering when you'd mention epaulets." He grins. "Epaulets for the Captain, why not?"


	13. Chapter 13

It's the naked butt mopping afterwards that's the most awkward part of the whole thing, Mark thinks to himself as he's lined up with the others.  
  
The blonde girl sighs. "Could you, maybe, for once, not get your omega slick all over the place?" she asks.   
  
"We got a little carried away," Robbie says, and shrugs. "Besides, you have to put on a good show for the alphas, don't you?"   
  
Mark winces as his butt gets mopped. "Careful!"   
  
"Sorry," the blonde girl says, and she sounds genuinely apologetic. "We've got to get you all cleaned up properly for the next shoot."  
  
Gary sighs. "Let me guess, more cavorting around in leather jackets with no shirts while touching each other a lot?"   
  
"Obviously," the blonde girl tells him. "Omegas acting like that around each other plays really well with the alpha segment of the market nowadays."


	14. Chapter 14

"Robbie!" Gary shouts. "Get back here!"   
  
As usual, as soon as Gary had said that there was a ghost lurking in one of the rooms further down the hall in the haunted hotel they were investigating, Robbie had run off to fight it.   
  
"It'll be fine!" Robbie shouted back, gesturing with his flashlight. "In here?"   
  
"Yes, but -" Gary winced when he heard a loud thump, and then Robbie swearing loudly. "It's a violent one." He walked down the hallway. "You all right?"   
  
"I'm fine!" Robbie insisted, although Gary could see him rub his arm and wincing again. "Why didn't you tell me it was a violent one immediately?"  
  
Gary gave him an unimpressed look. "Because you had already run off before I could tell you, you idiot."  
  
"I'm not an idiot!" Robbie huffed. "How come you can communicate well with ghosts, but not with actual human beings?"   
  
"I'd be able to communicate with actual human beings if those human beings would listen for once!" Gary shouted back.   
  
Their argument soon devolved into a shouting match, and the next loud thump wasn't caused by the violent ghost, but by Gary and Robbie trying to throw each other out the nearest window.  
  
"Guys?" came Mark's voice across their earpieces. "Are you two fighting again?"   
  
"Maybe," Robbie panted, having shoved Gary up against the wall. "He was being annoying."  
  
"You were being annoying!"   
  
Over the earpiece, Mark sighed. "I'll send Howard and Jason in, shall I?"   
  
Ten minutes later, the ghost was gone, Jason had put the kettle on, Howard had found some old biscuits, and they were sitting in the hotel kitchen. "That was easy," Howard commented. "Not sure why Gary and Robbie had such trouble with it."   
  
"Well," Jason replied, "for one, you actually listen to me."   
  
"And I don't run off like an idiot to try and punch a ghost in the face," Howard said.  
  
"Yes, that does help."


	15. Chapter 15

When Robbie hears Howard's laughter come from upstairs, he's not entirely sure he wants to go up there to see what Howard's stumbled across.   
  
Turns out he doesn't have to, since Howard's already on the landing, waving one of the more brighter coloured dildos around as he grins down at Robbie. "I want to say I'm surprised, Rob, but I'm really not. Where the hell do you even find stuff like this?"   
  
"Oh, want some for yourself, do you?" he counters, laughing even as his face reddens. Now that Howard's stopped waving it around, he can see which one it is. Great, one of tentacle-shaped ones.   
  
Howard eyes the dildo with some suspicion. "Depends. They all this big?"   
  
Oh. Well. Before he can even think it through, the offer's already out of his mouth. "I've got some smaller ones if you want to work up to it."   
  
Howard looks down at him, and for a moment Robbie thinks he's pushed it too far, that Howard isn't _really_ interested, and he's about to get a tentacle-shaped dildo thrown at his head. Then he nods. "Get your arse up here, Rob. You can give me a demonstration."   
  
He's more than happy to.


	16. Chapter 16

He had tried not to look at himself while getting changed, but when he was finished, he caught sight of himself in the bathroom mirror and froze. He wasn't sure what was worse. The hot pink of the nurse dress, the cheap blonde wig, or the thigh high heeled boots he could barely stand in, let alone walk.  
  
 _Dammit, Howard_.  
  
Jason had mentioned it as a joke, after they'd gotten off-stage and Howard was waiting for them, still wearing the blonde wig while having exchanged the nurse outfit for a tracksuit. “You gonna be wearing that more often when you re-join us?”   
  
Howard had grinned, wrapping him in a hug. “Only if you’ll join me. Gotta wear matching outfits, right?”   
  
Jason had laughed, too happy and relieved Howard was fine and on the mend and doing ridiculous shit like nothing had ever happened. Going from seeing him like that in the hospital bed to having doctors talk about _when_ he was ready to get back on-stage again rather than _if_ felt like a miracle. “Sure, mate. I’ll try yours on first, see if pink’s even my colour.”   
  
Howard had pulled back, beaming at him. “I’ll hold you to that.”

And, well, he had said it, and he never could refuse Howard anything. He felt like a complete idiot in this get-up. How had Howard managed to wear this in front of a huge crowd while radiating confidence?   
  
“Jay? You okay in there?”  
  
“I look like an idiot!”   
  
He could hear Howard’s derisive snort from the hotel room. “If you do, it won’t be the first time!”   
  
He laughed. Those words shouldn’t have been as reassuring as they were. “Thanks, you really know how to boost my self-esteem!”  
  
“That’s not the only thing I can boost! Just come out, Jay!”  
  
Oddly enough, Howard’s words were exactly what he needed to turn away from the mirror. Sure, he looked like an idiot, but that didn’t matter. Howard wasn’t going to judge him. He still felt a little nervous when he opened the door and stepped back into the hotel room. He looked down at the floor, trying not to wobble too much on his heels. How the hell had Howard managed to walk around on-stage without falling flat on his face?   
  
An odd noise from the bed made him look away from his own feet, and at Howard, who was practically bouncing over to him, a grin so big it was threatening to split his face.   
  
“How did you not trip down the –” His question was cut off by Howard kissing him eagerly, and Jason let go of the doorknob to wrap his arms around Howard’s neck. It was only partly for balance.   
  
“You’re gorgeous,” Howard told him, pressing kisses against his cheek. “Fucking gorgeous, Jay.” He leaned back, looking down at Jason’s body, and his grin somehow became even bigger. His hands, which had been on Jason’s bare arms, moved to stroke down his chest.   
  
Jason felt his own face flush, his embarrassment somehow only getting worse at how genuinely, obviously thrilled Howard was. This was nowhere near the first time one of them was eager or desperate, and definitely not the first time one of them liked seeing the other in a particular outfit a bit too much, but it had never been like this, with Howard looking like it was his birthday and Christmas and he’d won the lottery all at once.   
  
Howard looked away from the dress and met Jason’s eyes. “You don’t think so?”   
  
Somehow, Howard’s confusion made Jason’s face even redder. “Too busy feeling like an idiot,” he admitted, and Howard shook his head.   
  
“The pink definitely suits you,” he insisted, hands running up and down Jason’s chest. “The boots do too, although you really should practise walking in them, mate. You’re worse than Bambi on ice.” He pulled at the hem of the dress, tugging it a little lower.  
  
“Getting worried about my modesty?” Jason joked, because that was easier than listening to Howard telling him how good he looked.   
  
Howard flashed him another grin. “Not sure I’ve got any ground to stand on there.” His fingers darted underneath the dress, and Jason was only surprised by the fact Howard hadn’t done that sooner. He watched Howard’s eyes widen when he realized Jason had gone commando. “You definitely haven’t got any ground either, Jay!”   
  
“It just seemed easier,” he mumbled, pretty sure his face was bright red now.  
  
“Mm, I bet you are.” Howard kissed him, hands moving to stroke his arse over the dress before squeezing firmly. He leaned back, smiling softly. “So, is there anything about wearing this you _do_ like?”   
  
Jason struggled to think of something that wasn’t ‘your enthusiasm’, but settled on, “I like towering over you.”  
  
“You’re not _that_ much taller even with the heels.”  
  
“Still.” He gave Howard his best smug smile.  
  
Howard snorted. “One way to remedy that…”  
  
Jason was about to ask what that was when Howard wrapped both arms around his waist and picked him up. “Howard! Put me down, you can’t do this, you’re not supposed to exert yourself!” By the time he finished speaking, Howard had already walked the couple of feet to the bed and put him back on the ground. “You’re supposed to be careful.”   
  
“Bit late for that.” He pushed Jason back onto the bed, sending him sprawling.   
  
The wig slid off his head, and Jason glared up at Howard, who crawled on top of him. “What if that had done your lung in again?”   
  
“Then I’ve already got a sexy nurse to take care of me.”   
  
“Howard…”   
  
“You’ll have to stop worrying about me at some point, you know.”   
  
“Maybe in another twenty years.” He was only half-joking.   
  
Howard’s eyes were soft, but then he grinned. “So long as you wear this!”   
  
He laughed. “What, in twenty years?”   
  
“Or any time in between that you feel like it.” He kissed Jason again. “I mean it. You are fucking gorgeous in this, but you’re fucking gorgeous in anything. And if you don’t like wearing it, then don’t wear it just because I like seeing you in it.”   
  
Now who was worrying over who? “You just want to get me naked.”   
  
“Well, that too.” Howard’s fingers were already tugging on the zipper of the nurse dress when he went back to kissing Jason.


	17. Chapter 17

"They've won?" Jason stares at the TV screen. "Azerbaijan's won?"   
  
"Well, that could've been a lot worse," Gary says. "At least it's not Jedward."   
  
"There's nothing wrong with Jedward!"  
  
"There is _a lot_ wrong with Jedward, Rob."   
  
"Ignore him," Mark tells Robbie. "He's just annoyed Italy and their piano didn't win."  
  
"I don't _only_ like the acts that have a piano and don't set them on fire."   
  
"But it helps," Mark mutters, and Robbie laughs over Gary's indignant splutters.   
  
While they continue to argue over Jedward and whether or not pianos should be set on fire more often, Howard sidles up to Jason. "Congrats, mate."   
  
"Thanks." Jason smiles at him. "Disappointed yours didn't win?"   
  
"Nah, mine were rubbish. Besides, I'm getting the money anyway, aren't I?" Howard grins at Jason's slight frown. "You never did pay me back for that physio session from a few years ago."   
  
Trust Howard to remember that. "Isn't my continued good health and flexibility enough of a payback for you?" he tries.   
  
"It's nice," Howard agrees, "but not 200 quid worth of nice. Pay up, Orange."


	18. Chapter 18

"You two are allowed to disagree, you know," Jason says, when Howard and Mark have left to get coffee. He's been quiet for most of the day, blaming it on jetlag to anyone who mentioned it, but mainly so he could watch the others and see how the new group dynamic was shaking out.   
  
"What? We have!" Gary insists, and Robbie nods along with him.   
  
"When?" Because all he's seen today is Gary trying not to frown and Robbie turning derisive snorts into awkward coughs whenever they clearly disagree with each other's suggestions. "We're not going to get anywhere if the two of you won't point out each other's bad lyrics."   
  
"Maybe none of his lyrics have been bad, ever think of that, Jay?" Robbie asks, looking exactly as annoyingly smug as Jason remembers.  
  
Jason smiles, wishing he could capture this moment and somehow show it to the Robbie from ten, fifteen years ago. "Rob..."   
  
"Are you saying you _want_ us to fight with each other?" Gary asks. "I thought the whole point was not to do that again."   
  
"A disagreement isn't a fight, remember? Mark and Howard and I have told you whenever we disagree with you for the last couple of albums, and we're still here." He doesn't mention that it took them some time to get to that point. "Just stop the polite tiptoe'ing and call each other an idiot every now and then."   
  
Robbie and Gary are silent for a long moment, but then Gary sighs. "He has a point," he says, turning to Robbie, who is still frowning. "You know he does."   
  
"Another thing to get used to," Robbie grumbles good-naturedly as he smiles at Jason. "Fine. I'll start disagreeing with him. Politely."   
  
Once Howard and Mark return, it's not long before the polite disagreement turns less polite, but afterwards they're all laughing _and_ the song's a lot better.


	19. Chapter 19

"It's only fair, right?"   
  
Howard picks up the rope. Jason looks at Robbie and raises an eyebrow.  
  
"I mean," Robbie continues, because that's what he always does, no point stopping now, "I missed all the fun during How Deep Is Your Love."   
  
Howard lets out a huff. "You missed freezing your balls off."   
  
"Watched that one a lot, did you?" Jason asks.   
  
Robbie shrugs, shifting on his feet. "It had its appeal. Gary being thrown off a cliff and all that. The hairpulling."   
  
"Well," says Jason, "I think we can help you there."   
  
Howard gives him a considering look. "Be one way to stop you from running off again."   
  
He doesn't think he'll ever not feel a jolt of guilt at the memory. He swallows. "I came back, right?"  
  
Howard is silent for a long moment. "You did. Right, get your arse in that chair, I'll tie you up while Jay gets a fork."   
  
"A fork?" Robbie splutters, but, well, why not? Gaz had looked like he'd enjoyed it, and he wasn't that good an actor. He does as he's told. He sits quietly as Howard ties him to the chair, and he's nervous and hot all over.   
  
Howard runs his fingers through Robbie's hair, smiling down at him before curling his hand into a fist and giving a sharp tug that makes Robbie gasp. "This what you wanted, Rob?"  
  
"Yes," he manages, already half-hard. "Yes, it is."


	20. Chapter 20

The only surprising thing about Mark pressing a little too close to him when suggesting they share a room at the next B&B is that they've never done it before.  
  
Well, they've shared a room before, but they've never _shared_ a room before. "Won't Rob get jealous?" he jokes.  
  
Mark just smiles. "I'm sure he'll live. Sharing with Jason might do him some good."  
  
Sharing with Jason always does Howard good, so he nods.

*

He sits on the bed, throwing Mark the lube before taking off his shoes. Once he's done with that, Mark is still staring at the bottle like it's about to bite him. "What?" he asks. "You know how it works, right?"   
  
Shit, he just assumed about Mark and Rob...  
  
"I know," Mark replies, still wide-eyed. "Um, you want me to...on myself?"   
  
"No, you on me, you daft git."   
  
Mark's eyes, already so big, go even bigger. "What?"   
  
Howard sighs. "You're not a daft git."   
  
"That's not...I mean, I assumed you'd want to fuck me."  
  
"Oh." Is that how it is with Mark and Rob? Howard shrugs. "Well, if that's what you want."   
  
"No! I mean, yes, sure, but..." Mark looks at the lube again. "You really want me to fuck you?"   
  
"Yes?" And why does Mark look so surprised about that? "Preferably sooner rather than later." They've got an early start tomorrow.   
  
He pulls his shirt over his head, and Mark's still standing there and staring at him, so Howard helps Mark with his shirt too. "I can undress myself!" Mark grumbles, when Howard's tugging his shirt up.   
  
"Of course you can." Howard's hands go to his belt.   
  
Mark glares up at him. "If you're in such a rush to get me naked, maybe I'll be in a rush with the lube."   
  
He certainly hopes so. "Promises, promises."   
  
*  
  
They're finally naked on the bed together, Mark on top of him - which took some pulling as Mark was trying to get underneath him first - and the kissing and groping is going very well, in Howard's opinion. Going by Mark's breathy little moans, he agrees.   
  
"All right, get on with it." He spreads his legs wider and hands Mark the lube again.  
  
"You need to work on your pillowtalk," Mark tells him, but sits up between Howard's thighs.   
  
"You need to work on getting on with it." He nudges Mark with his knee. He eyes Mark's cock, promisingly hard and promisingly thick. He can already imagine how good that'll feel when Mark finally starts pushing it inside of him.   
  
Mark pushes two slick fingers in, quick and rough. "How's this for getting on with it?"   
  
Howard groans because yes, that's a good start. "Better."   
  
"Really?" Mark sounds surprised, but he's still moving his fingers, so Howard forgives him for not adding a third finger already.   
  
"Yes," he hisses, pushing back against Mark's fingers. It hurts a little, which is just how he likes it. "Get on with it."   
  
"I am!" Mark insists, managing to sound both worried _and_ annoyed. "Howard, I know what it's like. I'm trying not to hurt you."   
  
In the back of his mind, he wonders once again about Mark and Rob, but that thought is fleeting and he's got more important things to think about. Like Mark's cock inside of him. "What if I'm fine with that? Just a little?"   
  
"Oh." Mark sounds surprised again. "Okay." He slides his fingers out, puts some lube on the palm of his hand, and starts stroking his cock.   
  
Howard wants to stroke his own cock, he's been hard for a while now, but he grabs the sheets underneath him. The need is coiling low in his stomach. If Mark doesn't stop lubing up his cock soon, Howard'll have to push him back to get on top of him himself.   
  
Maybe next time. He's sure Mark'll like it.   
  
"Yes, I know," Mark pants, before Howard can open his mouth. "Get on with it."   
  
He finally _finally_ stops stroking his cock, shuffling forward, frowning in concentration, and then Howard can feel it. It's a tentative push at first. "That's it," he says, trying to sound encouraging, "push harder."   
  
Mark does, and oh yes, that's it, that's what he wanted, that sharp pain that's on the edge of being too much as Mark keeps pushing and stretching him.   
  
"Oh fuck," he manages, closing his eyes and digging his fingers into the mattress. "Keep going." He can't have Mark deciding to be gentle now.   
  
He feels gentle fingers stroke his cheek as Mark pushes in deeper and Howard moans and hisses and wants more.   
  
"Howard..."   
  
He opens his eyes to look at Mark, who is looking at him before glancing down at where he's still slowly pushing inside. "You like it?" he asks.   
  
"Yeah." Mark sounds amazed, then he gives Howard a grin. "This is amazing."   
  
"Mmm, you know what's more amazing?"   
  
"Let me guess." Mark thrusts in hard, making Howard moan. "Getting on with it?"


	21. Chapter 21

"I got us breakfast."   
  
"Hmpf?" Howard manages to open one eye. "What?"  
  
"Breakfast." Gary puts the tray down on the nightstand.   
  
Howard looks over and notices the alarm clock. "It's seven thirty." They've got nowhere to be today. Howard had been planning on sleeping in, lazy morning sex, and then more sleeping in.   
  
"I know, I figured I'd let you sleep a little longer."   
  
Howard sighs, and then sits up. It is very nice of Gary to bring him breakfast in bed.   
  
Then he sees what Gary has brought him.   
  
"Gaz," he says, "Gaz, none of that is breakfast."   
  
"Yes, it is. Here's your cup of kombucha, really great stuff." Gary hands him a cup and Howard blearily accepts it. "And here's your breakfast smoothie, it's got ginger and spinach and kale and -"  
  
Howard has already tuned out the rest as he blinks at the green concoction. He's all in favour of Gary picking up healthy eating habits and working out, but not at seven thirty in the morning.


	22. Chapter 22

Gary finally finds the piece of paper he's been looking for under the piano. He's pretty sure there's _something_ he can salvage about those lyrics. Robbie and Mark have gone out to get them coffee, and he always feels useless whenever Howard and Jason discuss choreography.  
  
"Guys!" he calls out. "I found it! I told you, there's gold on here, there's-"  
  
Then he looks at what's written on the piece of paper. Not the lyrics, but the messy scribbles on the bottom half of the paper.  
  
_"Oh Rob." Moaned Gary. "Oh I love your big cock going up my bum. Shove it in there harder!"_  
  
"Howard!" he yells, feeling his face turn a bright-red.  
  
"I'm right here, you know."  
  
He nearly jumps three feet into the air at Howard's sudden voice right behind him. He whirls around, seeing both Howard _and_ Jason looking worried. "What's this supposed to be?!" He thrusts the paper at Howard.  
  
Howard takes it, then nods as he reads through it. "Oh, right, yeah, I got bored."  
  
"Bored?!" He turns to Jason. "Jason, have you seen this? He can't go around writing things like that."  
  
Jason takes the paper from Howard, frowning as he reads. "Oh, I agree."  
  
Gary sighs with relief, glad someone else is showing some common sense. What if a cleaner had seen it?  
  
"Howard, mate, no offence, but this is terrible." Jason gestures at the scribbled writing. "'We should _of_ started shagging years ago'? You know it's 'should have'."  
  
"Now is not the time to be giving him grammar lessons!"  
  
"I disagree. We're working on lyrics, I'm not having grammatically incorrect lyrics."  
  
"It doesn't matter," Howard argues, "you know what I meant!"  
  
"Yes, I understood perfectly what you meant. You've-you've written _porn_ about me and Rob!" Gary's face feels even hotter than before.  
  
"And it isn't even _good_ porn." Jason shakes his head as he looks at the paper. "Where's the tenderness?"  
  
"It's porn."  
  
"You can have tender porn."  
  
"Oh, you think you can write better porn, Jay?"  
  
"I _know_ I can write better porn."  
  
Gary buries his face in his hands as his friends argue.  
  
They're never going to get an album finished at this rate.


	23. Chapter 23

"I'll go and check on the auto-pilot." Gary gets up. The shared dinners are wonderful, of course, but he's seen the way Robbie's smirking at Mark and how Jason is leaning closer to Howard.  
  
He's not jealous. He's not ungrateful. He's very appreciative of everything the rest of the crew has done for him.   
  
He clasps his hands together behind his back - the cold steel against warm fingers still feels strange - and gives them a nod before turning on his heel to stride out the room.   
  
"You won't stay a little longer, then?" Mark calls out. "You never do."   
  
"The auto-pilot is fine and the route ahead is clear," Jason adds, giving him a warm smile. He pulls out the chair Gary has just vacated. "Sit down."   
  
Following orders is what he knows, and he's back at the table before he has a moment to think about it. "I was just-"   
  
"Running away again?" Robbie grins. "Or what do you call it? Tactical retreat?"   
  
Gary glares at him. "I was doing no such thing."   
  
"Really?" Robbie drawls. "'cause I'm pretty sure that's what you did last week."   
  
He feels his cheeks redden. He hadn't thought Robbie or any of the others had noticed he'd came back to get some coffee, had taken one look - or several, if he was honest - at what was going on, and then fled back to the navigation suite.   
  
He was still trying to understand what all the screens and levers and dials were telling him, but at least they made more sense than what he'd seen his new friends do. The tight ball of need that had blossomed inside of him still hadn't gone away entirely.   
  
"If you want to leave, that's fine," Jason tells him, "but I reckon you'd rather stay." He's leaning over to Gary now. "When we took you onboard the ship, what did we tell you?"  
  
"That I was welcome and as much a part of the crew as everyone else," Gary replies, feeling himself get more flustered under Jason's gaze.   
  
"Precisely. Which means you can be a part of this as well."   
  
"A part of _what_?" Because he has to know for certain before he wants something he can't have. Not again.   
  
He starts at a sudden hand on his thigh and turns to find it's Howard on his other side. It's impressive how silent such a big man can be. "I think you know," Howard tells him, smiling as he slides his hand up. And further up.   
  
"Always with the direct approach," Jason mutters, leaning back in his chair. "He hasn't even agreed to join us."   
  
"Oh," Howard says, massaging Gary's rapidly hardening cock through his trousers. "Trust me, he has."


	24. Chapter 24

"Wait," Gary pants, even as he's grinding against Howard's hand. The friction and pressure is perfect, even through his jeans. "Fuck."

Howard laughs, a huff of hot breath against his neck. "Getting to that, Gaz, if you'll let go of me so I can take my shirt off."

His hands have got a tight grip on Howard's t-shirt, keeping him on top as they're lying on the kingsize bed, and Gary can't make himself let go. He's wanted to touch Howard like this for what feels like forever. He's wanted Howard to touch him like this for what feels like forever. But Howard's right. Gary's got to let him take his shirt off, and the rest of his clothes.

He's seen Howard in various states of undress frequently enough to know exactly what he looks like naked, but now Gary will get to touch all those muscles instead of looking and then feeling guilty for ogling. He'll finally get to touch those abs and that broad chest and find out if playing with that nipple ring is as much fun as he's always thought and run his hands down those biceps and-

He realizes Howard's frowning down at him the same moment he realizes he's going to come, and oh God, there's no stopping it, no matter how much he doesn't want to come in his pants.

He closes his eyes, his face flushed with embarrassment as he comes. He can't even enjoy the pleasure and the afterglow like he normally would.

He's panting as the feeling fades, pushing Howard off of him as he rolls onto his side. "That-that normally doesn't happen!" He's got self-control. He's managed to keep his hands off of Howard for several years now. That's got to count for something.

"What, an orgasm? You've been missing out, mate."

"I don't mean that!" Trust Howard to make a joke out of it. His face grows even redder. "I meant coming in my pants."

"Happens to the best of us." He feels a hand patting him on the shoulder reassuringly. "You want to try again in a couple of minutes?"

Gary's staring at the wallpaper. He's pretty sure he won't even need that long. "Sure."

"Great! Maybe this time we'll manage to get your jeans off before you come."

He grabs a pillow before he's even thought it through, and sits up to swing it at Howard's head. 


	25. Chapter 25

The others regularly poke fun at him for all the books he drags around, but at nights like this they come in very useful. Reading stops him from getting too stuck in his own head and his own thoughts.

There's a knock on the door, and since it's a quarter to three in the morning, he's not surprised that it's Rob on the other side, wearing a dressing gown over his t-shirt and boxers.

"Can I come in?" he asks, looking hesitant.

"Couldn't sleep?"

Rob shrugs. "I was out on my balcony, saw the light was on in your room too."

It wasn't an answer. "You know you need your sleep."

"So do you," Rob counters immediately.

"I'm used to it." As much as anyone can ever get used to insomnia. "Want some tea?"   
  
"Sure." Rob sits down on his bed. "Does it help?"  
  
"Hm?"   
  
"The tea." Rob nods at the teabags Jason's rifling through. "Does it actually help?"   
  
He shrugs. "It doesn't hurt, does it?"   
  
Rob snorts at that. "I'd've thought...the way you're drinking all that herbal shit, it's got to be good for something."   
  
It's weird to hear Rob say things like that without the venom of the old days. It's weird to listen to him say things like that without getting defensive and annoyed himself. "D'you want some tea or not?"   
  
"Yes, please."   
  
"So," Jason asks, while the kettle's boiling, "why are you awake, then?"   
  
Rob shrugs. "The usual. Touring. Performing. Crowds. Interviews."   
  
The kettle clicks, and Jason goes through the motions of preparing the tea, adding some sugar to Rob's before handing it to him and sitting next to him on the bed with his own mug. "Ah, _that_ usual."  
  
"I'm not thinking about leaving," Rob says, after taking a sip from his tea. His tone is a touch defensive. "I wouldn't. It's just..."   
  
"It's a lot."   
  
Rob nods, looking lost for a moment. "It is." He sighs, and rests his head on Jason's shoulder. "I'm glad I'm doing it with you guys."   
  
Jason carefully puts his arm around Rob's shoulders, then raises his hand to gently stroke Rob's hair. "Me too. I'm glad you're here with us." He wasn't sure what he'd expected Rob to do, but it wasn't for him to press even closer, nestling into his shoulder.   
  
They finish the tea in silence, Jason idly stroking Rob's hair and Rob letting out content sighs every now and then. "Thanks for the tea." Rob hands him the mug, but doesn't get up.  
  
"You should head back to your own room."   
  
Rob doesn't move. "When have I ever done what I was supposed to?"   
  
He's got a point there. "Well, _I_ am going back to bed, and back to my book." He gets up to put the mugs away, leaving Rob to flop down onto the bed.   
  
"Okay."   
  
Jason figures that Rob will go back to his own room when he realizes Jason really is going to go back to bed to read his book, but Rob being Rob, he just gets into bed next to him as if he's always done that. "Go on," Rob tells him, "read us a story."   
  
"It's _A Brief History of Time_ , Rob, it's not that kind of book."   
  
"Read us anyway," Rob insists, pouting a little.  
  
Jason sighs, but picks up where he left off and reads it out loud. Rob moves until he can rest his head on Jason's shoulder again, which means Jason has to wrap an arm around him to be comfortable as well, and he keeps on reading.  
  
He can feel Rob's breathing even out next to him, and then it turns into soft snoring.  
  
Well, at least one of them's getting some sleep.


	26. Chapter 26

"They're good for your health," Jason insists, when he finds out their hotel in Finland has a spa with a sauna and a swimming pool.

Mark and Robbie look sceptical. "We sweat a lot anyway," Mark says, "what with all the dancing and performing."

"I'm not gonna sweat more if I don't need to. Swimming pool sounds good, though." Robbie grins.

Howard agrees to trying the sauna, and Jason turns to Gary. "How about you?"

Gary's been trying to think of a third option. He's got no idea what effect a sauna will have on his vocal cords, if any at all, and being in the same swimming pool as Robbie and Mark is asking for trouble. "I'm not sure."

"Oh please," Robbie scoffs, "you have to be naked in a sauna, there's no way he's going in there with the two of you. Gaz, just join us for a swim."

Gary feels himself becoming flustered as the others laugh. "I'll try the sauna." He glares at Robbie.

Robbie just rolls his eyes. "See you later, then."

Once they're in the sauna after Jason's figured out how it works, Gary realizes that the effect on his vocal cords should've been the least of his worries.

He's in a tiny room with Jason and Howard, both stark-bollock naked and sitting on their towels on the wooden bench, and he has to try not to look at the sweat dripping down their biceps or chests or anywhere else.

"You all right, Gaz?" Jason asks, looking worried.

Gary's still got his towel wrapped around his waist as he's sitting on the other bench. "I'm fine!" he insists, pretending to look at the thermometer instead of all that naked skin and muscle.

Saunas aren't good for anything, he decides, trying not to think of how easy it'd be to lean closer and lick the sweat off of Howard's neck. Saunas are evil. 


	27. Chapter 27

"Did you know," Robbie says, in a tone that has Gary worried already, and it's only eight in the morning, "that you've got kits where you can make a dildo based on your own cock?"

Gary manages not to spit out his coffee, which is pretty impressive if he says so himself. He blinks down at his croissant for a few long seconds. "I didn't know that, no," he manages eventually. He's got to change the subject, and changes it to the weather, and then tonight's concert, and then to football, and he hopes that has suitably distracted Robbie away from the topic of dildos.

*

Some months later, when he receives a package in the post from Robbie, he just sighs when he takes out the contents. He calls Robbie.

"Did you get it?"

"Yes. Yes, I got the-the dildo." It's ridiculous. He's a grown man. He can talk about sex toys. "So, is it based on yours, then?"

"I'm insulted you can't tell!"

Gary eyes the bright blue dildo. "Not sure yours was ever this colour."

"Yeah, I added some food colouring. What's the point in making your own dildo if you can't have fun with it?"

He puts it back in the box. "Did you try it?" Because that is an appealing thought. Robbie preparing himself, fucking himself on his dildo...

"No, that'd be weird, wouldn't it? I'm not gonna fuck myself on my own cock."

"Oh yes," he replies drily, "that's far too weird for you."

Robbie laughs. "Just let me know how you like it, Captain. And maybe send me one of your own, hmm?"

He splutters indignantly at that. "I'm not gonna make you a dildo!"

"Shame," Robbie replies with a sigh. "Guess I'll have make it myself next time I visit you."


	28. Chapter 28

Jason had been skeptical about the concept for How Deep Is Your Love, and not just because he'd rather dance than sit on a chair, but he was the first to say that it really was a good video after they all watched the final edit together.

"You really looked like you were begging for your life there," he told Gary. "Trying to convince her that she shouldn't kill you because you were really into her."

"What?" Gary asked, sounding surprised.

"You know, the faces you pulled when she poked you with a fork?" Jason continued. "When you looked like you basically had an orgasm from it? And then as she was about to shove you over the cliff, you looked like you were really into being tied to a chair and about to die? Bold acting choice. Not sure I was as convincing as acting like I was really into having my hair pulled."

Gary's face reddened. "Yes," he replied. "Yes, it was an acting choice. I was acting. Acting a lot."

Before Jason could ask him how he'd come to that particular choice, Gary had already wandered off. Oh well, he'd ask him some other time. 


	29. Chapter 29

It’s going to be a disaster. How did he let himself be talked into lap dancing? On a stage? In front of thousands? There’s no way he’s going to be able to pull off anything graceful, let alone sexy. Not with Mark next to him and Jason and Howard pole-dancing.

It’s going to be a disaster, and rehearsals haven’t even properly started yet.

“Right, you sit here.” Howard pulls out a chair for Gary. “Jason’ll work with Mark.”

Gary doesn’t sit until Howard pushes him down to sit. “I’m not sure about this. I think we should do something else. How about –”

“Too late,” Howard tells him cheerfully. “You’re lap dancing, Barlow.”

“So why am I the one in the chair, then?”

Howard snorts as if the answer should be obvious. “Well, you need a demonstration, don’t you?”

Gary stares up at him. “From you?” he manages. As if rehearsing with Howard, who is still as flexible and in shape and too bloody attractive as he was back in the nineties, wasn’t distracting enough already. 

“Yes? Unless you’d rather Jay do it?” Some of the glee has vanished from Howard’s voice, and there is a flash of insecurity in his eyes.  
  
“No!” he immediately blurts out, although it would probably be better for his sanity if Jason gave him the demonstration. “No, I mean, um, do I need to be sitting down? I could just watch first?”   
  
“It’s not a lap dance demo if there’s no lap to dance on,” Howard tells him firmly. “Now sit down and enjoy yourself. You better tip me afterwards.”   
  
Gary’s about to comment that an attitude like that’ll never earn Howard tips, but then he’s already turned on the remix for _It Only Takes A Minute_ and has started his demonstration, which involves a lot more stroking Gary’s face and a lot more of Howard grabbing Gary’s hand to run it down Howard’s body than Gary expected. His brain has given up on trying to remember moves and choreography. It’s all been too much like his worst nightmare and biggest dream coming true, having Howard all over him. He hopes it doesn’t get more physical than this, or Howard’s going to notice.  
  
He yelps when Howard sprawls across his lap, and Howard looks at him, frowning slightly. “What? I’m not that heavy, and—oh.”   
  
Gary feels his cheeks redden. “It’s my phone?”   
  
“That is not your phone.” Howard remains sprawled across his lap, then grins at him. “Well, well, well. You definitely owe me a tip for doing such a good job, Barlow.”   
  
“I wasn’t—I wouldn’t—” he splutters, but then Howard’s already moved in to kiss him and oh, the last of his brain cells that were still trying to keep up have definitely melted.  
  
“By the way,” Howard tells him in between kisses, “this isn’t part of the choreography.”


	30. Chapter 30

Gary can never keep track of Rob’s pack. There’s too many of them, and it seems Rob’s acquired a new dog every time Gary is over.

“Why didn’t you stick with two?” he asks, when the German Shepherd trails after Rob while he’s carrying little Poupette and cooing over her. “Two’s a good number.” From the other room, he can hear Missy bark. “See, she agrees!”

Rob frowns at him, then shifts Poupette in his arms so the little dog’s facing Gary. “Because look at her face!” He walks over to Gary, practically shoving Poupette’s fluffy face – which is indeed adorable – in Gary’s.

Poupette’s ears perk up and she sniffs Gary’s chin for a moment, and then quick as a flash, she’s licked him.

Rob laughs. “She’s got good taste!”

Gary laughs as he steps back, giving Poupette a friendly scratch behind the ears. “Don’t do that again,” he tells the dog. “Hugo and Cookie’ll get jealous.” 


	31. Chapter 31

“We’ll have to address Gary’s dancing or lack thereof as well, obviously.”  
  
Howard and Mark immediately nod at Jason’s comment, which bruises Gary’s ego more than it should. “Do we?” he asks, and regrets it when the other three all frown at him.  
  
“The whole point of revisiting the Apache segment is to critically reflect on what it means to be a boyband,” Jason tells him, “and how to make it look artificial and manufactured without getting too cynical and mean-spirited and ruining everyone’s fun nostalgic night out. We’ll have to address some of the elephants in the room.”  
  
Mark perks up at the mention of elephants, scribbling something down in his notepad.   
  
“Okay, but me dancing will _definitely_ ruin people’s fun night out.”   
  
“But mostly yours?” Howard asks. “C’mon, Gaz. We agreed. What’s the point if we’re not going to do it properly?”   
  
The showman deep inside of him agrees. The anxious recluse that’s closer to the surface disagrees. “That’s easy for you to say.”   
  
Howard looks at him for a moment, then shakes his head and looks at Jason.   
  
“ _Nothing_ about this is easy for any of us,” Jason tells him. “We’re addressing your reluctance to dance.”   
  
He’s a little shame-faced at having to be reminded. “Fine. We’ll address it.”   
  
“Through choreography,” Howard adds, an evil glint in his eyes. “Lots of choreography.”   
  
Gary sighs. “You keep up like that, and I’m reuniting with Westlife instead!”


	32. Chapter 32

Mark’s lying on the floor, still catching his breath after a particularly gruelling dance rehearsal. “You’re a cruel man, Jason Orange.”   
  
Jason smiles down at him, barely looking like he broke a sweat. “You’re the one who said we had to do a proper tour, or not bother with a come-back at all.”   
  
He groans at that. “I take it back. I take it all back. I agree with Gary now, let’s do a Westlife and sit on stools all evening.”   
  
“Too late.” Jason offers him his hand to help him get up.  
  
Mark takes it. “I hope you’re not expecting me to move tomorrow.”   
  
“Well, that’ll depend on your cool down, won’t it?”   
  
“Cool down? The only thing I want is a hot shower and my bed.” He’ll be lucky if he doesn’t fall asleep in the shower at this rate.   
  
“Mm, that’d be a shame.”   
  
He recognises that suggestive, soft murmur. Mark eyes him and the way he’s still holding Mark’s hand. “Would it, now?”   
  
Jason shrugs, his eyes sweeping down and up Mark’s body. “It’s not the _best_ cool down. And you do want to avoid feeling sore tomorrow, right?”   
  
“As much as possible, yes.” Because he’s not sure if Jason’s ‘cool down’ plans won’t just have him feeling sore in different places. Although the exhaustion is definitely starting to fade at the thought. “What did you have in mind?”   
  
“Well, a nice massage always does wonders, doesn’t it? Could get a start on that while in the shower.”   
  
Oh _yes_. “Have I mentioned lately how much I love you?”   
  
“Not enough, mate. Not enough.”


	33. Chapter 33

“I love you,” Rob says, when it’s only the two of them late one night. “I always have. I think that’s been the problem between us.”

“Isn’t that your usual line about Gary?” Jason replies.

Rob punches his shoulder. “Yes. Doesn’t mean it can’t still be true.” He should’ve seen it coming that Jay would argue over it. Fortunately, he’s a lot better at handling that nowadays.

Jason just snorts. “Maybe. You had a funny way of showing it, though.”

“So did you,” Rob immediately counters.

Jason’s head turns sharply to look at him. “Who says I loved you back then?”

“Oh, c’mon, Jay.” Rob leans closer. “I was the loveable, cheeky one!” He gives Jason a big grin, and Jason pushes him back and laughs.

“I’ll give you cheeky.”

“Loveable! I was one hundred percent loveable! I’ve got the Take That Official mags somewhere in the attic to prove it!” Rob insists.

“The same mags in which you were a 17-year-old when we first started rather than 16?”

“I was mature enough to get away with it!” When Jason laughs again, Rob smiles. “See? Loveable.”

“More now than you were back then, I’ll give you that.”

“I mean it though,” Rob says. “I did love you. I just didn’t realize it. I’m an idiot.”

Jason is silent for a long moment. “Now that,” he eventually says, “I can agree with.”

Rob punches his shoulder again. “Git.”

“But you’re right. I did love you, and I did care. But I never thought you did.”

Part of him still wants to crawl away from conversations like this, but he knows they’re necessary, and he always feel better once he’s had them. “You were just trying to look out for me. The difference is that nowadays, I’ll let you.”

“Always, mate. Always.” 


	34. Chapter 34

Jason Orange. He’s in a band with Jason Orange.

Howard would pinch himself, but Jason’s already coming over to him, friendly smile on his face and offering his hand. “I love you,” Howard blurts out.

“You what?” Jason asks, frowning slightly.

“I mean, I love your body. I mean, I love the way you dance. At the Apollo,” Howard continues, feeling his cheeks redden and shit, he’s still shaking Jason’s hand. He quickly lets go of it. “With your crew. I’ve come to see you guys a lot. I love your moves. You’re amazing.”

Jason blinks. “Thanks?”

“Not sure what I’m doing here, to be honest,” he adds, and oh God, why can’t he stop talking? “No one’s gonna notice I’m around with you on stage.”

“Oh,” Jason replies, a smile growing on his face. “I’d notice you, mate. I’d definitely notice you.


	35. Chapter 35

“You kissed me.”  
  
“Yes.”   
  
Gary’s not sure what else he expected. Jason _did_ kiss him, neither of them can deny that, and Jason’s always been the honest type. “On stage.”   
  
“Yes.”  
  
“In front of a crowd.”  
  
“Yes. Gaz, is this going anywhere in particular?” Jason looks up from the magazine he’s leafing through. He sounds infuriatingly calm, but then again, what else is new?   
  
“I wasn’t–you don’t—I didn’t—” he splutters, not sure where he was going, now that Jason’s asked. He takes a deep breath, trying to get his brain to come up with something better than replaying that moment over and over again. He can still feel Jason’s hands against his cheeks, holding him in place. His stomach squirms. “You didn’t have to.”   
  
Jason shrugs. “Maybe I wanted to.”  
  
 _Oh._ The squirming in his stomach is only getting worse, and he licks his lips. “Are you going to do it again? Tomorrow night?”   
  
“Depends,” Jason says, smiling now. “Do you want me to?”   
  
His mind draws a complete blank. “Um.”   
  
“Or,” Jason continues, putting the magazine down and getting up from the couch, “do you want me to do it again so you can make up your mind?”   
  
His heart feels like it’s going a million miles an hour. “Um,” he manages, because Jason’s coming over with that same calculating look in his eyes.   
  
Jason cups his chin, smiling down at him for a moment before slowly moving in, giving Gary plenty of time to move out of the way.   
  
Gary doesn’t. He closes his eyes, letting himself be guided like he did on stage, and then Jason’s mouth is on his, exactly as gentle as it was before. It’s also over as quickly, and Gary finds himself swaying forward when Jason pulls back.   
  
“Well?”   
  
“Yes,” Gary whispers. “Definitely, yes.”   
  
“I’ll kiss you every night, then, mate. Every night.”


	36. Chapter 36

It’s ridiculous.   
  
He’s just buying a magazine. A perfectly normal magazine that won’t raise anyone’s eyebrows. He doesn’t need to hide it between a newspaper and some bags of sweets, and there’s no need to use the self-checkout lane so he can stuff the magazine in his bag as quickly as possible. But he does anyway.   
  
He feels flustered all the way home, and, if he’s honest, more than a little bit annoyed. Because apart from ridiculous, it’s unfair.  
  
He’s been trying to get Gary to experiment with colour and style and embrace nice clothing and fashion for _years_ , and now that Gary is finally doing all of that, he’s doing it _after_ their tour when he won’t be seeing Gary in person for a while. Until then, he’s always got Instagram.  
  
And, as of half an hour ago, the latest copy of The Rake.  
  
When he’s finally home and leafing through the magazine, looking for the fashion spread on his friend, he feels like a teenager who’s just managed to buy a dirty magazine from the cornershop. It’s definitely having the same effect on him.   
  
He moans when he gets to the right pages. Oh yes. Sheer perfection. The styling. The lighting. The colour. The fabric. It’s all _perfect_. His cock is hardening at the sight and he palms himself through his trousers.   
  
It would be so much nicer to show Gary how much he appreciates this in person, but until then, he’ll make do with a magazine.


	37. Chapter 37

Robbie’s pretty sure he could get a better copy of the _How Deep Is Your Love_ video if he wanted to, but that would require calling people and talking to people and people asking him questions and him having to answer those questions, and anyway, MTV’s playing the video often enough. Even if Robbie hadn’t already recorded it, he can watch it as much as he likes.  
  
He’s seen it often enough to know exactly when the best scenes are and when to grab his remote to press Pause.   
  
He doesn’t _always_ pause when the kidnapper presses the fork against Gary’s throat. Sometimes he pauses it in the middle of the hair pull, or at the start when it’s revealed all four of them are tied to chairs, or when she’s running the fork down Gary’s cheek, or when they’re all sitting in the van, or when she’s dangling Gary over the side of that cliff.   
  
He’s jerked off over all those scenes more times than he cares to admit, and he’s given up on telling himself he’s just getting off on no longer being one of the idiots stuck on those chairs because someone told him to sit there and look pretty.   
  
After his tenth dream where he’s got Gary tied to a chair in his non-existing basement and he ends up coming all over Gary’s pleading face, even Rob got his subconscious’ message.   
  
Going by Gary’s expressions in the video, though, and by what Rob knows of his non-existing acting ability, Rob’s not the only who really _really_ likes those ropes.


	38. Chapter 38

There were several upsides to Gary working out in preparation for their tour, and Howard appreciated one of those upsides while Gary leaned across the table to write something down on a notepad. It'd be even better if the notepad had been further away so Gary had to bend over more, but Howard would take it. Happily.   
  
He felt an elbow dig into his side, and he jerked out of the way. "What?"  
  
Mark grinned up at him. "Stop ogling Gary's arse. We have to get back to work."   
  
"You can't blame me for ogling. Not with those tight trousers."   
  
"Fair point."   
  
Gary, unfortunately, had turned around to walk back over to them. "Very funny, guys."   
  
Howard looked at him, at the way Gary was still looking at his notepad and the slightly pink ears. "What's funny? Us ogling your arse? Because I don't know if you've noticed, but you have got a nice one."   
  
The ears turned even pinker, and Gary looked at Mark. "You wanted to get back to work?"   
  
"Actually," Mark said, glancing at Howard briefly, "I wanted to discuss tank tops. I still say you should show off your biceps more."   
  
"Definitely," Howard added as Gary spluttered. "And your arse."   
  
"How?!" Gary gestured with the notepad. "You want me in those assless chaps of yours because we're revisiting the past?"   
  
Howard considered Gary in that old outfit for a moment. "Would I have to wear one of your old Relight outfits?"   
  
"Don't be ridiculous." Mark shook his head.  
  
"Thank you!" Gary sighed with relief. "Can we-"   
  
"If Gary's wearing one of yours, you have to wear one of mine, and I'll wear one of Gary's," Mark explained.   
  
"I'm not wearing those things on stage!"   
  
"Shame," Howard told him, watching Gary's face turn redder. "You really have got a nice arse for 'em. But tight trousers it is, then." He reached out to grab Gary's arse and give it a quick squeeze.  
  
Gary let out an indignant 'hey!' and batted Howard's hand away. "Can we be serious for a moment and get back to work now, instead of talking about my arse?"   
  
Howard frowned, wondering how much of this was Gary being a workaholic and how much was Gary's confidence issues playing up. Did he really think they were just joking when they said they liked how he looked?   
  
"All right," Mark agreed. "Back to work."   
  
"Back to work," Howard echoed. He'd show Gary later that he was very _very_ serious about liking his arse.


	39. Chapter 39

Robbie wakes up from the weird VWORP VWORP noise, but the only thing he finds is a VHS-tape on his kitchen table. There’s a note that says ‘not sure which format worked in 1996, Yaz said USB wasn’t a thing yet, so we went with a VHS-tape! Hope it works! See ya!’  
  
The note makes very little sense and Robbie throws it in the trash. He blearily stumbles into his living room and puts the tape in the video recorder.  
  
The joy he feels when he realizes it’s himself, but an older version of himself, in a music video with a song doesn’t last very long. Only ten seconds in, and there’s Gary Fucking Barlow, also older, but sadly not fat or balding, the git.   
  
Robbie feels more and more horrified as he watches. A duet? With Fucking Barlow? About apologizing and regrets and _feelings_? He can’t believe his eyes.  
  
He especially can’t believe the way the older him and the older Fucking Barlow keep eyeing each other. As if they’re fond of each other. As if they’re _more_ than fond of each other. It’s horrifying and makes his stomach turn. Especially the part where Fucking Barlow takes his shirt off. Robbie doesn’t need that on an empty stomach.   
  
The music video stops, and he ejects the tape, immediately trying to pry it apart. He doesn’t need this. He doesn’t need Fucking Barlow for a fucking stupid duet. He stomps on the remains of the tape. He can forge his own career in music. He’ll forge his own career, and he’ll show Fucking Barlow. He’ll show all of them.


End file.
